DENG ON FIRE AS GB BEAT HUNGARY

Chicago Bulls forward Luol Deng marked his return to international action with a commanding performance, as Great Britain scraped past Hungary 91-82 in their opening European Championship qualifier in Szolnok.

The NBA star scored 20 of his game-high 32 points in the first half as Chris Finch’s men surged into a 54-42 lead by the interval.

However the Hungarians pushed a series of damaging lapses from the visitors to edge 71-67 in front early in the fourth period. And it took consecutive scores from American-born guard Nate Reinking to spark a decisive late surge from GB.

Pops Mensah-Bonsu added 14 points and a mammoth 18 rebounds for Finch’s men who host Macedonia – who beat Ukraine 71-57 – in Newcastle on Sunday.